* What is really worth noting is that for one memorable 12-round moment, most Filipinos, if not all, were united as one, cheering and praying for Manny Pacquiao. When can we rally again as one unified nation, and for a greater cause?
THE defeat of our idol, Manny Pacquiao, was a big letdown for most Filipinos. It takes a good man to win without boasting and lose without murmuring. But we can still boast and be proud of the fact that a Filipino has reached the apex and center stage of world boxing.
What is really worth noting is that for one memorable 12-round moment, most Filipinos, if not all, were united as one, cheering and praying for Manny Pacquiao. When can we rally again as one unified nation, and for a greater cause?
The Holy Week, as always, is a good time for sober reflections.
The great Mahatma Gandhi offered solid food for thought, for meditation, when he presented a listing of seven sins in the world, namely: 1. Wealth without work; 2. Pleasure without conscience; 3. Commerce without morality; 4. Science without humanity; 5. Politics without principle; and 7. Knowledge without principle.
All these topics can cover all our meditative moments during this week of retreat and relaxation. We are told, in a post-fight analysis, that the Mexican fighter, Morales, really studied the strength and weaknesses of Manny Pacquiao. As individuals and as a nation, we have our own strengths and weaknesses. We can really study them and act accordingly, and still come out the winner.
All this of course, as we are wont to say is easier said than done. William Penn has a strong statement to make. He said, “Right is always right, even if everyone is against it. And wrong is always wrong, even if everyone is for it.
It is in the getting-together, thinking together and working together that are the hardest parts of nation building.
Someone with a sarcastic note once said, “if we all run away from a problem, we will all be running in one direction.” That’s not the oneness we want, not the way to go.
For a long, long time, we have been hoping and praying for the success of the rallying cry: “Isang diwa, isang bansa.”
The famous Albert Einstein suggested another approach: “It is high time we change the ideal of success for the ideal of service.” We need to put life into our long-suffering nation. A wise man once said, “Life begins when you begin to serve.”
With that thought, one of the best prayers, therefore, for his holy week, is the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola: “Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not seek for rest; to labor and not ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do thy will.”
A spiritual writer once said “God always uses the man closest to Him.” This is the week to be closest to Him and to share in His Glorious Resurrection. Happy Easter to all!
